Yeah it has been a crappy summer...so maybe it's too wet? After following your link and checking around the web, it might be early blight/ Alternaria fungus? I'm finding a lot of prevention info, but absolutely no treatment info....!Should I pull it out? Or wait to see what happens?

MT--Actinovate rocks! Get it and give your plants a one-two punch of soil drench and foliar feeding:

okay, so i've got a nice little container garden that i set up on my balcony (i live in an apt), which gets tons of lovely sunshine. i'm growing a sweet 100 tomato plant, as well as some herbs which are sharing a planter - they are basil, tarragon, mint, and also a banana pepper plant. i know, i didn't really plan that one out too well!

anyhoooo, my building's balconies are being rebuilt, so i've had to bring in all my healthy, luscious plants. they are sitting in front of the balcony door, getting lots of light, but the pepper and tomato have got aphids now! : ( my husband wiped most off of the pepper plant, but then we noticed the tomato plant had some too. should i mist it with soapy water? i'd love to move them outside again, but it might be two weeks or longer until they're done! (it appears my balcony will be completed last as it's above a business, so they've got to take more care with it.) what can i do?! and there are a few tomatoes actually ripening right now, but lots of blooms... should i be "tickling" them to pollenate them until i can get them back outside?

also, i've never fertilized any of my container plants. should i give my tomato some coffee grounds? a few of the leaves are turning a bit yellow.

thanks for any insights jewbacca or any of you could share!! i'd appreciate it so much!

_________________when you realise how perfect everything is, you will tilt you head back and laugh at the sky. -buddha

Yeah it has been a crappy summer...so maybe it's too wet? After following your link and checking around the web, it might be early blight/ Alternaria fungus? I'm finding a lot of prevention info, but absolutely no treatment info....!Should I pull it out? Or wait to see what happens?

MT--Actinovate rocks! Get it and give your plants a one-two punch of soil drench and foliar feeding:

I need to take drastic measures for flea control. One of my cats almost died from Haemobartonellosis: A more serious form of anemia, caused by a microorganism carried by the flea, the h.felis in the case of felines. Haemobartonellosis is diagnosed by laboratory tests and treated with antibiotics, steroids, and in some severe cases, blood transfusions.

I've already spent over $1000 on one cat who got it and needed a blood transfusion. I have 6 more cats, plus two dogs. I can't afford any more vet bills.

We've had lot's of rain and my yard is mostly shady. And humid. I've been told that fleas are resistant to sevin dust.

That's the bisque of it. I spend over $100 dollars a month on flea drops for my 9 animals. It's no longer working. These animals go yearly to the vets for their shots, heart worm prevention pills, everything a family pet needs to stay health and live a long good life. I spend more money on them than I do on myself.

I've used boric acid powder before, is that similar to diomataceos earth?

Thanks for your help! I'm always deligent at prevention, but this year the fleas are on steroids.

Muffin Tuffin- D'oh! I hate that online shipping calculator, it never works. I'll contact IT about that. We're in SC Indiana, and can ship that little package in a USPM envelope for less than $5. Call me at work 1-800-274-9676 and just order it over the phone. We can always give a fairer shipping price over the phone. If I'm not around, talk to Clint, my manager.

Bodhi- aphids are a pain to control because they are born pregnant. Your pal did good by wiping them off, but you'll want to use something more aggressive to keep them at bay. I like Safer 3-in-1 garden spray, which is an organic insect control with antifungal stuff to keep the plant healthy. Yep, you do need to feed those peppers and tomatoes. All plants need lots of nitrogen for green growth and phosphorous and potassium for the fruiting and flowering. General Organics makes a great vegan grow and bloom formula to keep those tomatoes growing good fruits. Tomatoes also need lots of Ca and Mg to prevent blossom end rot-(that's the culprit of black icky bottoms on tomatoes). General organics also makes a Ca/Mg supplement too, as well as Botanicare. We sell all of those products where I work.

Peri, Last but not least--fleas! If you live in an area that didn't get a good freezing winter, then flea and tick populations will be kah-razy! I'm so sorry you've poured out so much on flea control. Many of our customers buy a couple of things in addition to their regular flea medicine: they apply beneficial nematodes and diatomaceous earth. BN are technically pinworms. Our insectary in Medford, OR breeds them live and feeds them a live insect diet instead of the freeze dried BN that many other insectaries sell online. The BN come 1 million on a credit card sized sponge. You soak the sponge in your watering can, wring it out, and apply the nematodes directly in your soil. As long as the soil is moist and not in standing water, those nematodes will eat ANY INSECT with a soil stage! You have to apply them every 6-8 weeks for effective control. The BN are not harmful to humans or pets. They want to eat bugs, not us.

Diatamaceous earth (DE) is not boric acid. It consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It looks like talc powder and is harmless to humans and pets-(some people eat it!) but to an insect it is like walking on shards of glass. It is used in many commercial flea powders, and can be used on any crawling insect. Sprinkle it around the base of your home, or in the corners of shelves, windowsills, and cupboards to prevent insects from coming in the house. You can also sprinkle it on the carpet and vacuum to help with the fleas that are waiting to nom you and the pets.

Please let me know if I forgot to answer anything or if you have further questions. I'm happy to help.

Ok, about two weeks ago my hubby sprinkled Ortho granules in back yard to try getting rid of the fleas. It didn't work. So now I've got bug killer on the ground and I was wondering how long should I wait to buy and apply the beneficial nematodes?

MT--you can use beneficial nematodes for general insect control. They won't survive super cold temps. They take care of many different problem pests, anything with a soil stage. There are just too many to list!

i almost spent $30 on a blueberry plant that looked half dead. came close, but didn't.BECAUSE i bought a dead patchouli plant for $5. perhaps you could convince your partner that others are much worse than you??

i have a small problem with plants. the people at the plant store LOVE to see me coming.

I have a question about chamomile. Does it have a very short lie cycle? Mine got huge and lush, lots of flowers, but then basically turned brown and dried completely out in about a week. I know it wasn't from lack of water. I had the plant for about three-four months?

I have a question about soil for container gardening. I haven't been able to find any that doesn't have guano in it. Can anyone recommend vegan brands? Can I just use potting soil? Noob questions, I know...

Also, is it safe to plant edibles in things like plastic? I wonder about whether it leeches into the soil and whether the plants pick it up.

In fact, I use herbcompanion.com to learn all I can about herbs I haven't grown yet. I'm growing some German right now, and it looks like it is dying off. I just moved, so I'm not sure if it is heat related or nutrient deficient. I also always have a tuft or two of rogue chamomile because I put my tea bags in the worm bin and the seeds don't get digested by them. Neat, huh?

Tanis, fear not. You can container garden using plastic nursery pots or use the smart pot made from recycled plastic eco-felt. The source of our nursery pots are food grade. We also sell Sunshine planting mix, hydroton, piece coir, and coco coir, which are alternatives to traditional soil mixes which contain guanos. I've included some product links:http://www.wormsway.com/detail.aspx?t=prod&sku=SCCB300 (coir comes in blocks too! you soak them in water and use as a soil amendment or to grow plants in by itself.

Gaia, is there any evidence of baby leaves on top of the plant? If so, It will keep growing. I hope you don't think I'm laughing at the clean stalks, but I did smile when I read your post because I think it is really adorable that she thought she was helping and was super thorough.

I was so excited to say that yes I had baby leaves since they were there Sat. morning when I watered, but when I went out this morning to water, the stalks had turned brown and shrively. I think the heat got to it since we've had something like 17 straight dry days, and it's been over 90 quite a few days as well.

_________________"I would love to be president of the United States. It's been my dream ever since I discovered what power was." ~ RandiJM, age 11-ish

Gaia, Kale doesn't like the intense heat, it's more of a cold winter veggie. In fact, the flavor is better after a good frost. We're on day #3 of an intense heat wave, so many veggies will not grow at all in these temperatures.

It's so hot out, I can hardly stand it. And to think that findyourspot.com said that my ideal location was in the South! If my plants had fingers, they'd be flipping me off right now. Everything is burning. I'm checking on the babies tonight to assess the damage.

Bodhi- aphids are a pain to control because they are born pregnant. Your pal did good by wiping them off, but you'll want to use something more aggressive to keep them at bay. I like Safer 3-in-1 garden spray, which is an organic insect control with antifungal stuff to keep the plant healthy. Yep, you do need to feed those peppers and tomatoes. All plants need lots of nitrogen for green growth and phosphorous and potassium for the fruiting and flowering. General Organics makes a great vegan grow and bloom formula to keep those tomatoes growing good fruits. Tomatoes also need lots of Ca and Mg to prevent blossom end rot-(that's the culprit of black icky bottoms on tomatoes). General organics also makes a Ca/Mg supplement too, as well as Botanicare. We sell all of those products where I work.

thanks for all the info! i found some stuff to feed my lovely plants, but i'm still looking for something to get rid of the aphids! at the last garden place i went to, they only had one item, and it didn't look very natural... i'm mostly concerned as my plants are temporarily indoors where my 3 year old son get easily access them. i didn't see the "safer 3-in-1" so i wonder if we even have it in canada. (i'd love to buy from you, but shipping to canada is a bit ridiculous sometimes!) anyway, is there something specific i can look for as far as aphid control? i mean, how can i tell if something is okay to use? i'm wary of using insecticides inside my home!

_________________when you realise how perfect everything is, you will tilt you head back and laugh at the sky. -buddha

The best aphid control if you are just indoors is to wipe your leaves off with a damp cloth. This can be tedious if you have a ton of plants, but that's an approach that will won't use chemicals. OMRI-(Organic Material Review Institute) is the official seal of approval for organic ferts, nutes, and pesticides. You can also use household sticky stakes, which are bright yellow fly trap sticks that you stake by your plants. Aphids and whiteflies LOVE the color yellow.

excellent, thank you so much for that! i had no problems with my normal indoor plants having aphids until i pulled in my balcony plant since we're having work done on the balcony, so it should hopefully not be a long-lasting problem. i think i'll keep looking at what products i can get here, but probably i'll just have to wipe them off. : ( it's not too bad except my curry plant! (lots of tiny leaves!)

Thanks again!! : D

_________________when you realise how perfect everything is, you will tilt you head back and laugh at the sky. -buddha

I lost my first zuchinni to blossom end rot, so I bought some dolomite lime to help the plants out. (They are also near the roots of a cypress tree, which probably isn't helping.) The box and most things online say 1 tbs per gallon of water, but I can't find anything that explains how many plants or sq.ft. that's supposed to be good for. I have 2 plants in about 8 square feet.